


Drifter Singing Carols Behind Your Door

by MadamRogers



Category: Jackie & Ryan (2014)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, just pure fluff, snow and guitars and Carols
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 05:04:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16906629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRogers/pseuds/MadamRogers
Summary: Ryan comes to sing a Carol behind your door.





	Drifter Singing Carols Behind Your Door

**Author's Note:**

> A Christmas drabble for an anonymous on Tumblr, with prompts:
> 
> 23.”Merry Christmas, love!”  
> 27\. “This is the best Christmas I’ve had in years”  
> 54\. Someone goes to their beloved’s door to sing them a Carol

You watched them through your window. The warm lights of the Christmas tree mirrored from the glass of the window, but you still saw them. The snowflakes. They were travelling towards the ground to join their friends, but they were in no hurry. Just like you; you weren’t in any hurry. You sat on the sofa, holding your palm against your cheek. The world behind your window started to get dark when the day withdrew and gave space to the night. In the corner opposite to you was your small radio. It had been playing Carols since the start of the day when your family had been around, but then the Carols had been only accompanying the chorus of your happiness. Now they were everything you could hear in the empty, warm house. You were still able to feel the happiness, the joy and echoes of the smiles and laughter danced around in every room. 

Still, you were waiting. 

You knew he would’ve been there if he could’ve made it. But trains don’t move during Christmas. Not so often, not so subtly. You knew any of them wasn’t going to bring the one you missed the most. He had sent you a message, telling he was coming as soon as he could, but he had missed one of the trains. You didn’t blame him; everything could happen when life was full of travelling and you weren’t in charge of everything. 

It didn’t erase the empty feeling in your heart. He wasn’t there to celebrate this magical time of the year with you. You moved to lie down on the sofa and closed your eyes. The silent echo of the Carols on the radio filled your ears, it was comfortable and warm. You curled up without a blanket and straightened your upper hand next to you on the sofa. In the distance, Brad Paisley sang the Silver Bells.

And little by little, muscle by muscle you relaxed and drifted off to sleep…

You were woken up by the tight sound of the doorbell. Sitting up at first, you turned to look over your shoulder and saw that it was still snowing just as slowly and eternally as before. 

If you had just looked a bit more carefully, you would’ve seen fresh footprints coming towards your door. 

You jumped from the sofa and started to make your way to the hall to answer the door, suddenly feeling perfectly awake. There was no sign of sleep left in your body or in your mind. You took a hold of the handle to open the door.

It was hardly even open when you started to hear the melody of a familiar Carol. It had been on the radio, you had drifted off to sleep with it in the background.  
And when you got the door open properly, you saw Ryan. He had snow on his shoulders, on his hat and even on his hair that was a bit longer than before. He smiled to you and opened his mouth; not to say his hellos, not to wish you merry Christmas, he started to sing.

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks  
Dressed in holiday style  
In the air there's a feeling  
Of Christmas  
Children laughing, people passing  
Meeting smile after smile  
And on every street corner you'll hear”

You leaned against the door and could only look at him, how his unclothed fingers touched the strings of the guitar, how his voice filled the scenery behind and around him.  
The snowflakes travelled towards the ground, those hexagonal diamonds, and it was so quiet that Ryan’s voice filled the whole street. No one was passing by, no one was outside, only the streetlights and Christmas lights and decorations gave their light with the fallen snow. Ryan’s footprints were slowly filled with snow.

“Silver bells  
Silver bells  
It's Christmas time in the city  
Ring-a-ling  
Hear them ring  
Soon it will be Christmas Day”

The snow on his hair and clothes made him look like a miracle; like a breathing miracle of Christmas. Now this miracle was singing and smiling to you, and you couldn’t hold back a smile of your own. It was just as soft as the snowflakes and you knew melted ones were glowing on the corners of your eyes. 

“Strings of streetlights, even stoplights  
Blink of bright red and green  
As the shoppers rush home with their treasures  
Hear the snow crunch  
See the kids bunch  
This is Santa's big scene  
And above all the bustle you'll hear”

He had no rush, his song flowed like rivers from springs and lakes, like the slow tears from your eyes. You sucked on your lips, and so did he as he only played for a couple heartbeats. His smile was shy and kind and he sang the last part of the song.

“Silver bells  
Silver bells  
It's Christmas time in the city  
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring  
Soon it will be Christmas Day  
Soon it will be Christmas Day”

His voice got lower and faded by the end, then came the last note. You could hear and feel how it stayed there between the two of you until it broke free and travelled to the other end of the street.

“Merry Christmas, love!” he whispered softly, eyes never leaving yours. 

As you stepped on the snowy porch without shoes, only woolen socks covering your feet and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, he held the guitar with one hand to be able to hug you properly. 

“Ryan,” you almost gasped against his snowy shoulder, meeting the ends of his hair with your forehead. 

He squeezed you softly, burying his own face against your shoulder, nuzzling it. You were warm in his arms, despite standing there without a coat for a few minutes. You were practically standing on his shoes, could feel the guitar against your back but what you felt the most were Ryan’s arms around you. How he tried to warm his fingers against your shirt, how he nuzzled your neck with his face now and squeezed you a bit more out of all the longing and missed moments. 

“Ryan, this… This is the best Christmas I’ve had in years,” you managed to whisper in his ear, all the feelings in your heart, the ones you had felt before were gone. “You came…”

“Of course I came,” he whispered back to you. His voice, you had missed the sound of it; so soft, yet so husky at times. The perfect mixture of calm and character. “I made a promise. And when I make a promise, I can be on the other end of the country, but I will keep that promise. Y/N, I love you…”

It was your turn to squeeze him, but you felt him returning the gesture once more. “I love you too, Ryan. Let’s get you inside before you get sick.”

“You’re the one getting sick if someone. Standing on the porch without shoes! Your woolen socks are sweet and precious but they’re not shoes.”

You let out a try of a giggle, but it ended up being just a breath against his skin. “I’ve missed you so much,” you felt the tears again.

“I’ve missed you too,” he whispered softly, almost sang in your ear. “Let’s get inside.”

“Yes… I have food, I have cookies and cocoa. Just for you,” you didn’t exactly want to let go of him but you knew you had to. Your woolen socks were soaked and you made a mental note of changing to another pair. You looked at Ryan’s familiar, dark eyes, touched his face with your fingertips just to check was he real.

He laughed a little at that. You did it again, this time you touched the red tip of his nose. 

“My very own Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer…”

Your gaze jumped from his nose to his eyes as he chuckled warmly.

“Not quite, but your very own Ryan Brenner, the drifter singing Carols behind your door.”

“The only drifter I’d want to sing Carols to me,” you smiled. “Come now, you can continue inside once we’ve eaten.”

He gathered his things and followed you inside, pulling the door closed behind him. His footprints were mostly filled with snow by the time the echo of his last note came back to dance and twirl around your house a little, only to disappear to the other end of the street. Ryan was already playing his guitar with the songs on the radio. 

And this Christmas really was the best you had had in years.


End file.
